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St. Mary’s student weekly • Volume 81, No. 11 December 7,1993 • St. Mary’s City, MD 20686
Te. ambers: Lisa Voso, Salvador Hume, Erik Norland, Jen Mott and Rachel Foster. PHOTO BY DON HILL
Women’s basketball gets good start of season 2
Letters to the Editor 3,4
The lost manuscript of Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 5
Cloud 9: Something to Offend Everyone 6
Comics: Murray gets a Christmas wish 7
An extra special page of holiday spirit 8
Student labeled an illegal alien
asked to leave St. Maiy's College
KATIE EDWARDS
staff writer
On October 28, 1993, resident
sophomore Abdul Kargbo, was asked
to leave St. Mary’s College because
he could not provide proof of perma­nent
resident status.
From August 8 to August 11,1990,
Abdul travelled from his native Afri­can
country of Sierra Leone to the
United States in order to continue his
education. A teacher’s strike going
on at that time in Sierra Leone had
already caused Kargbo to lose one
year of his schooling.
When Kargbo arrived in the United
States he went to live with his uncle
and aunt in Fort Washington, MD.
There he enrolled in a public school
and began the process of changing his
B-2 (a 12 month tourist visa) to an A-
1 diplomatic visa, which is the “ulti­mate
in visas.” At the time, his aunt
was applying for permanent resi­dence.
Although not adopted, Kargbo
was told that this would cover him as
well because he was now legally un­der
their guardianship,
Kargbo was allowed to enroll in a
public school then because his uncle
explained he was in the process of
getting permanent residence for
Abdul. When Kargbo applied to St.
Mary’s College, he again explained
that he was in the process of obtaining
permanent resident status, was ac­cepted,
and awarded a state scholar­ship
(Mathias D’Sousa) to help fund
his education. He completed his fresh­man
year with a 3.429 GPA.
A month into this semester Kargbo
received a letter from the registrar’s
office asking him for proof of his
permanent resident status. Kargbo
explained to the registrar that he was
still in the process of receiving it. The
registrar said all that was needed was
proof the process was actually under­way.
Kargbo, in an effort to get the re­quired
proof, learned from his aunt
that even if she received permanent
residence, he would not. Her perma­nent
resident status would only cover
an immediate relation of hers. A few
days after he explainined this to the
registrar, the Dean of Students,
Charlene Cole, asked him to leave the
college. After spending a few days
talking to members of the administra­tion
about his situation, he left on
November 3. The college told Abdul
that he would be allowed to return if
he had a valid visa.
Kargbo, now trying to rectify the
situation, has filed for a visa exten­sion
and is trying to get an F-l, a
student visa. His main obstacle is the
requirement of a visa to enable him to
attend school here. However, he must
prove that he can attend school here
before he can receive a visa.
Dean Cole hopes that Kargbo will
be able to come back because he is a
“good student and a good guy” but
it’s up to him to deal with immigra­tion
first. The college was basically in
jeopardy of losing all state scholar­ship
funds because it is illegal to
admit a person who does not have
(nor is in the process of receiving)
permanent resident status, or does not
have an appropriate visa. Dean Cole
admits that the college “needs to do a
better job of following up” on situa­tions
like these, and Abdul basically
“fell through the cracks.”
Concerned students, Libby
Killinger and Nicolc Erickson, looked
into starting a fund to replace the
scholarship that Abdul lost. Brian
Clarke, President of College Advance­m
U IU B T LIBBY NLLINVatrt Abdul Kargbo left the college because he doesn’t have a student visa.
ment, explained to them that the
ollege will provide Kargbo with
financial aid when he finally does
receive the appropriate documents
to return.
In the meantime Abdul has received
legal advice and is trying to solve his
problem, since he is now over 18. He
is trying to remain optimistic about
his Situation and feels that “this is not
a story of bad guys and good guys. It
is instead a story of bad luck and bad
advice . . . lots of it.”
Forensics team breaks records and becomes contender
EVAN CHRISTMAN
assistant editor
When you look around Umar
Hassan’s office it’s easy to figure out
why he’s smiling.
The Forensics Team started the year
with a fourth place at the St. Mary’s
Fall Classic Tournament, a win at the
Kentucky Owensboro Tournament,
took second at the James Madison
University and Seton Hall Tourneys,
and finished fourth at Bloomsburg
University’s Mad Hatter T oumament
The Mad Hatter Tournament is the
largest tournament the team attends
outside of the A.F.A. National Tour­nament.
The team has been compet­ing
with other top ranked teams like
Dartmouth and Tufts.
Returning from last year’s team are
Team President Erik Norland, Team
Captain Salvador Hume, and senior
Meg Burton. These three had the
luxury of introducing a team of nov­ices
to the Forensicx Cir^nt, a team
which has so far contended very wll
with larger, more experienced squads.
First year sophomores Eskunder Boyd
and Rachel Foster have proven to be
pleasant surprises and additions to
the team. Rounding out this year’s
team are ne freshmen Lisa Voso,k
JenniferMottand Laura Burgess, who
have all demonstrated great potential.
Besides the strong team finishes,
sophomore Erik Norland has set a
team record by qualifying for six
events at next springs A.F.A. Nation­als.
Norland is the first SMC member
ever to qualify for Nationals during
the fall season.
Hassan credited Norland’s success
to practice stating,“His success means
we have found a way to practice more
effectively.”
According to Hassan, commitment
is what makes the Forensicators prac­tices
worthwhile and contributes to
the team’s overall strength. “Work­ing
together to gather extra spirit, the
overall result can become more than
the sum of it’s parts.” Team members
meet together twice a week to re­hearse
and they meet separately alone
at least once a week with Hassan. In
addition team members practice on
their own. Successful team members
spend at least 12 to 15 hours a week
rehearsing.
Hassan attributed the team mem­bers
commitment to Forensics as the
team’s primary strength. “In the past
we faced problems of low money.
This year we went to more tourna­ments
and had a higher level of com­mitment.
The result of that has been
more trophies.”
The team’s success comes inspite
of it’s inexperience and small size.
The team has proven competitive in
the Informative andPersuasive Speak­ing,
Poetry Interpretation, Prose In­terpretation,
Dramatic Interpretation,
and Dramatic Duo events.
Returning players, Norland, Salva­dor
Hume and Meg Burton faced the
difficult task of introducing and pre­paring
the six new members for com­petition
on the forensics circuit. He
called the teams different experience
level “a blessing,” because of a greater
racial and gender diversity. “We are
committed to the process of improving
communication skills. On this team
everyone works together to improve,
their are no superstars. Everyone, re­gardless
of experience has potential and
has something to contribute.”
The team has also played a role in
the SMC community, by assisting
Student Activities in runningprograms
and giving performances. Hassan
believes strongly that Forensics
should not just seek to win trophies,
but “to put something back” into the
campus and local communities.
Hassan believes that the team’s
future looks as promising as it’s past.
In nearly four years, Umar has lead
the team to top ten rankings and be­lieves
another trip to the top ten is
near, adding, “This team has the po­tential
and the talent to place in the top
five.” Other schools with top rankings
have strong communications pro­grams.
“The first time we were ranked
in the top ten, it was unheard of to
have a school without a communica­tions
program place so well.” Hassan
would like to see a speech course at
SMC, believing forensics has a role
to play in the curriculum.

St. Mary’s student weekly • Volume 81, No. 11 December 7,1993 • St. Mary’s City, MD 20686
Te. ambers: Lisa Voso, Salvador Hume, Erik Norland, Jen Mott and Rachel Foster. PHOTO BY DON HILL
Women’s basketball gets good start of season 2
Letters to the Editor 3,4
The lost manuscript of Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 5
Cloud 9: Something to Offend Everyone 6
Comics: Murray gets a Christmas wish 7
An extra special page of holiday spirit 8
Student labeled an illegal alien
asked to leave St. Maiy's College
KATIE EDWARDS
staff writer
On October 28, 1993, resident
sophomore Abdul Kargbo, was asked
to leave St. Mary’s College because
he could not provide proof of perma­nent
resident status.
From August 8 to August 11,1990,
Abdul travelled from his native Afri­can
country of Sierra Leone to the
United States in order to continue his
education. A teacher’s strike going
on at that time in Sierra Leone had
already caused Kargbo to lose one
year of his schooling.
When Kargbo arrived in the United
States he went to live with his uncle
and aunt in Fort Washington, MD.
There he enrolled in a public school
and began the process of changing his
B-2 (a 12 month tourist visa) to an A-
1 diplomatic visa, which is the “ulti­mate
in visas.” At the time, his aunt
was applying for permanent resi­dence.
Although not adopted, Kargbo
was told that this would cover him as
well because he was now legally un­der
their guardianship,
Kargbo was allowed to enroll in a
public school then because his uncle
explained he was in the process of
getting permanent residence for
Abdul. When Kargbo applied to St.
Mary’s College, he again explained
that he was in the process of obtaining
permanent resident status, was ac­cepted,
and awarded a state scholar­ship
(Mathias D’Sousa) to help fund
his education. He completed his fresh­man
year with a 3.429 GPA.
A month into this semester Kargbo
received a letter from the registrar’s
office asking him for proof of his
permanent resident status. Kargbo
explained to the registrar that he was
still in the process of receiving it. The
registrar said all that was needed was
proof the process was actually under­way.
Kargbo, in an effort to get the re­quired
proof, learned from his aunt
that even if she received permanent
residence, he would not. Her perma­nent
resident status would only cover
an immediate relation of hers. A few
days after he explainined this to the
registrar, the Dean of Students,
Charlene Cole, asked him to leave the
college. After spending a few days
talking to members of the administra­tion
about his situation, he left on
November 3. The college told Abdul
that he would be allowed to return if
he had a valid visa.
Kargbo, now trying to rectify the
situation, has filed for a visa exten­sion
and is trying to get an F-l, a
student visa. His main obstacle is the
requirement of a visa to enable him to
attend school here. However, he must
prove that he can attend school here
before he can receive a visa.
Dean Cole hopes that Kargbo will
be able to come back because he is a
“good student and a good guy” but
it’s up to him to deal with immigra­tion
first. The college was basically in
jeopardy of losing all state scholar­ship
funds because it is illegal to
admit a person who does not have
(nor is in the process of receiving)
permanent resident status, or does not
have an appropriate visa. Dean Cole
admits that the college “needs to do a
better job of following up” on situa­tions
like these, and Abdul basically
“fell through the cracks.”
Concerned students, Libby
Killinger and Nicolc Erickson, looked
into starting a fund to replace the
scholarship that Abdul lost. Brian
Clarke, President of College Advance­m
U IU B T LIBBY NLLINVatrt Abdul Kargbo left the college because he doesn’t have a student visa.
ment, explained to them that the
ollege will provide Kargbo with
financial aid when he finally does
receive the appropriate documents
to return.
In the meantime Abdul has received
legal advice and is trying to solve his
problem, since he is now over 18. He
is trying to remain optimistic about
his Situation and feels that “this is not
a story of bad guys and good guys. It
is instead a story of bad luck and bad
advice . . . lots of it.”
Forensics team breaks records and becomes contender
EVAN CHRISTMAN
assistant editor
When you look around Umar
Hassan’s office it’s easy to figure out
why he’s smiling.
The Forensics Team started the year
with a fourth place at the St. Mary’s
Fall Classic Tournament, a win at the
Kentucky Owensboro Tournament,
took second at the James Madison
University and Seton Hall Tourneys,
and finished fourth at Bloomsburg
University’s Mad Hatter T oumament
The Mad Hatter Tournament is the
largest tournament the team attends
outside of the A.F.A. National Tour­nament.
The team has been compet­ing
with other top ranked teams like
Dartmouth and Tufts.
Returning from last year’s team are
Team President Erik Norland, Team
Captain Salvador Hume, and senior
Meg Burton. These three had the
luxury of introducing a team of nov­ices
to the Forensicx Cir^nt, a team
which has so far contended very wll
with larger, more experienced squads.
First year sophomores Eskunder Boyd
and Rachel Foster have proven to be
pleasant surprises and additions to
the team. Rounding out this year’s
team are ne freshmen Lisa Voso,k
JenniferMottand Laura Burgess, who
have all demonstrated great potential.
Besides the strong team finishes,
sophomore Erik Norland has set a
team record by qualifying for six
events at next springs A.F.A. Nation­als.
Norland is the first SMC member
ever to qualify for Nationals during
the fall season.
Hassan credited Norland’s success
to practice stating,“His success means
we have found a way to practice more
effectively.”
According to Hassan, commitment
is what makes the Forensicators prac­tices
worthwhile and contributes to
the team’s overall strength. “Work­ing
together to gather extra spirit, the
overall result can become more than
the sum of it’s parts.” Team members
meet together twice a week to re­hearse
and they meet separately alone
at least once a week with Hassan. In
addition team members practice on
their own. Successful team members
spend at least 12 to 15 hours a week
rehearsing.
Hassan attributed the team mem­bers
commitment to Forensics as the
team’s primary strength. “In the past
we faced problems of low money.
This year we went to more tourna­ments
and had a higher level of com­mitment.
The result of that has been
more trophies.”
The team’s success comes inspite
of it’s inexperience and small size.
The team has proven competitive in
the Informative andPersuasive Speak­ing,
Poetry Interpretation, Prose In­terpretation,
Dramatic Interpretation,
and Dramatic Duo events.
Returning players, Norland, Salva­dor
Hume and Meg Burton faced the
difficult task of introducing and pre­paring
the six new members for com­petition
on the forensics circuit. He
called the teams different experience
level “a blessing,” because of a greater
racial and gender diversity. “We are
committed to the process of improving
communication skills. On this team
everyone works together to improve,
their are no superstars. Everyone, re­gardless
of experience has potential and
has something to contribute.”
The team has also played a role in
the SMC community, by assisting
Student Activities in runningprograms
and giving performances. Hassan
believes strongly that Forensics
should not just seek to win trophies,
but “to put something back” into the
campus and local communities.
Hassan believes that the team’s
future looks as promising as it’s past.
In nearly four years, Umar has lead
the team to top ten rankings and be­lieves
another trip to the top ten is
near, adding, “This team has the po­tential
and the talent to place in the top
five.” Other schools with top rankings
have strong communications pro­grams.
“The first time we were ranked
in the top ten, it was unheard of to
have a school without a communica­tions
program place so well.” Hassan
would like to see a speech course at
SMC, believing forensics has a role
to play in the curriculum.